Instant coffee compositions are well known. A coffee composition can be made into a coffee drink simply by the addition of hot water. For ease of use by a consumer, a coffee composition may include a creamer in order to provide a whitening effect. Both non-foaming and foaming creamers are known.
Known instant coffee compositions intended for use by a domestic consumer provide either a homogenous coffee drink or a two-layered drink. A composition comprising instant coffee and a foaming creamer will provide a two-layered drink consisting of a liquid layer of the main coffee drink and a foam layer. Three-layered coffee drinks are available in an “away from home” format prepared by trained staff. Such coffee drinks require considerable skill in pouring parts of the beverage without causing mixing of the layers. If it were possible to prepare such compositions conveniently at home, cooking appliances would be necessary, for example to prepare a milk foam separately.
Latte Macchiato type beverages with different layers can be prepared using specially designed dispensing units such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,613 which regulate flow rate, or liquid concentrates with special dispensing machines as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,013,933. In both cases the separation between the layers relies specifically on the difference in densities of the liquids to create two or more layers which are limited to the factors such as regulation of the flow rate and order at which the liquid components are introduced. Beverages obtained by either of these processes require more than one preparation step and may therefore be off-putting and too complicated for a consumer.